The Rising Financial Costs of Storms

7/26/2021 (Permalink)

When storms do damage, we go to work to make things right. Contact SERVPRO of Tri-County to start the restoration process.

To say 2020 was “action packed” is an understatement, it was a record-setting year for weather and climate disasters. Of all the years in history for which we have data, 2020 was the most financially destructive.

There were 22 official weather disasters for the year 2020. Disasters are defined as events that cause at least a billion dollars in damages.

This was one of the most active seasons for hurricanes and tropical storms. In fact, the NWS had to refer to the Greek alphabet just to name all of the storms that came our way.

Severe Storms Have a Large Impact

Hurricanes have always been known as one of nature’s most powerful storms, but we are starting to see that severe storms are bringing the same type of damages. In fact, the most expensive disasters of 2020 in the contiguous United States were thunderstorms and tornadoes.

While 2020 brought 22 official weather disasters, 14 of these were severe thunderstorms.

Thunderstorms are so common that people tend to forget the real damage they can do. In a matter of minutes, without warning, they can produce hail, strong winds or even tornadoes.

Just how quickly can thunderstorms turn into dangerous weather events? In eastern Nebraska in August 2020, there seemed to be a typical line of thunderstorms that quickly exploded into something called a derecho (think of something like a tornado, but with straight-line winds instead of swirling ones, combined with a heavy thunderstorm). This potent storm destroyed more than 10 million acres of corn fields, almost half the state’s corn crop—that’s over 11% of the entire country’s corn fields.

Here in Georgia, we see more than our fair share of thunderstorms, most of which bring really strong winds and hail! In 2020, we saw severe weather, including the remnants of Hurricane Sally, Hurricane Delta and Tropical Storm Zeta.

Costs Are Rising

Severe weather is showing to be normal, and the cost of the damages it brings is becoming quite high! 2020 was the 10th consecutive year with at least eight billion-dollar disasters.

During 2018 and 2019, there was a combined total of $136 billion in damages. And the year 2017 set the highest total on record with a total of over $300 billion.

Thunderstorms can quickly turn into more, so as a home or business owner, it’s essential to take whatever precautions are possible to minimize damage to your property.

As we all know, nothing is ever certain, and even with precautions things happen! If you still manage to get a stroke of bad luck, it’s important to know you’ve got a friend in the restoration industry whose goal it is to recover your valued items and restore your property "Like it never even happened."

When storms do damage, we go to work to make things right. Contact SERVPRO today to see how we can help.